Browsing: World War II

Bradley Cooper played SEAL legend Chris Kyle in “American Sniper,” which drew critical acclaim and set box-office records. Then, he played a military contractor in “Aloha,” which didn’t. An upcoming military project could put Cooper back into uniform, only this time as a member of a real-life Army unit that aided the Allied push to Berlin at the close of World War II using deception that would make a Hollywood special-effects wizard blush. Deadline.com reported Monday that Cooper’s production company will team with Andrew Lazar, an “American Sniper” producer, to tell the story of 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, better known as…

[HTML1] The story of segregated 333rd Field Artillery Battalion and the 11 artillerymen massacred during the Battle of the Bulge is coming to television. The docudrama, “The Wereth Eleven,” premieres nationwide on National Geographic Channel on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. EST. (The above is a memorial video, which you may want to skip if swelling choruses and solemn drum rolls are not your thing. I’d had another video in mind but it would not embed.)

In 1942, when the outcome of World War II was unwritten, Life magazine published maps depicting the various ways America might be invaded. Easy to laugh off today what must have been chilling then: “U.S. fifth column, heretofore held in reserve, blows up the country. The Japs take the West Coast aviation industry, shipyards and oil wells. Then Germans stab at East Coast.” The maps were speculative, Life’s a response to another speculative article, by science fiction author Phillip Wylie, describing how America’s defeat might go. If you’re into this sort of thing, consider the upcoming BBC TV series, “The…

While the Tuskegee Airmen are fairly well known, few know the story of the segregated 333rd Field Artillery Battalion and the 11 artillerymen massacred during the Battle of the Bulge. A new film hopes to change all that.

If you happen to be in D.C., “Bridge on the River Kwai,” ranked among the greatest war movies of all time, is a must-see experience. It’s playing at the Burke Theater at the U.S. Navy Memorial Nov. 9 and is free for service members who RSVP.